The People's Constitutional Party was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

active in the U.S. state of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

History

The party was formed in 1968 by supporters of

Reies Tijerina Reies López Tijerina (September 21, 1926 – January 19, 2015), was an activist who led a struggle in the 1960s and 1970s to restore New Mexican land grants to the descendants of their Spanish colonial and Mexican owners. As a vocal spokes ...

and his

Alianza Federal de Mercedes Alianza Federal de Mercedes,Also referred to as: Alianza de Pueblos y Pobladores (The Alliance of Towns and Settlers) and Alianza de Pueblos Libres (The Alliance of Free Pueblos) which in English translates to Federal Land Grant Alliance, was a gro ...

, who was active in the

Chicano Movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento (Spanish for "the Movement"), was a civil rights movements, social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano, Chicano identity and worldview that combated ...

and advocated for land grants in New Mexico to be restored to descendants of their original Spanish and Mexican owners. The party, which was led by Pedro Arechuleta and Moises Morales, called for "

bilingual education In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The t ...

, civilian police review boards, and an increase in

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

payments." Due to his status as a convicted felon, Tijerina was disqualified as a gubernatorial candidate in the 1968 election and was replaced by Jose Maestes. The party ran several candidates in the 1968 and 1970 elections, but none were successful, or even received more than 2% of the vote, and it dissolved shortly afterward, largely due to Tijerina's imprisonment a year prior. In May 1970, the People's Constitutional Party had 169 registered members.

References

{{NewMexico-stub Chicano nationalism Mexican-American organizations Identity politics in the United States Political parties established in 1968 1968 establishments in the United States Political parties disestablished in 1971 1971 disestablishments in the United States Political parties in New Mexico Political parties of minorities in the United States Defunct political parties in the United States

History

See also

References